3 QR code uses for everyday life

QR codes are the talk of the business community. All you need is a camera phone and a code reader app. It’s incredibly easy to generate qr codes. With all the excitement it’s easy to get caught up in business uses and ignore the personal implications of QR codes. After you generate your QR codes and apply them to your business try these 3 practical QR code applications.

1. Keep track of valuables

Have you ever lost your smart phone, lap top, camera or other digital valuables? This is a great time to use QR codes. A year ago I got out of my car and my iPhone fell to the ground as I walked into a store. I didn’t realize it was missing until it was too late. Fortunately the person that found it actually called to give it back. However, when I got it back the browser had been to many porn and spam sites. All my contacts and emails were also exposed. I turned pass codes on to secure my info but that created another problem: if I lose the phone people can’t find my contacts.

Recently I generated QR codes to retrofit my business cards before gong to SXSW. I had way more stickers than I needed so I was looking for other ways to use them. I looked down at my iPhone and over at my luggage. They are all now adorned with QR codes generated in about 1 minute. There are already libraries using QR codes to keep track of things.

2. Protect your vehicle

Ok, you can’t actually “protect” your vehicle with a QR code, but it can help identify the owner. When someone runs into a parked car they (hopefully) leave a note on the window with their name and information. If you generate a QR code for you car someone can scan it and instantly contact you. This way you can take care of a small accident right then rather than trying to contact someone after the fact. It can also be helpful if someone needs you to move your car and isn’t sure who the owner is. In 2010 the EPA was already talking about adding QR codes to vehicles, albeit for other reasons.

3. Organize storage

My basement is full of boxes. Boxes for Christmas, Halloween, old stuff I haven’t seen in years, and a rather random assortment of things. I can tell you what’s down there but I might not be able to find it very quick. Imagine if each box in your basement has a QR code on it. You scan the code and a list of everything in the box pops up. I wish these codes were around when I was moving but it’s never too late to start.

There are a few QR generator camera phone apps. Download one that allows you to generate a QR code from text. Type in a list of what’s in the box, generate the QR code, and email it to yourself. Then just print it off and stick it to the box. Viola, your cluttered storage area is now slightly more organized.

I must say, all of these use cases are better dealt with by sticking clear text labels to the items instead of QR codes. What if the person who finds your stuff doesn’t know of QR codes? The box example started out nicely, but you lost me when you wrote that you are hard-coding the contents into the code. Puh-leaze! What you CAN do is keep those contents lists e.g. in Evernote, and make a QR code which links to the particular list. That way, you need not make a new code when taking something out or putting something into the box.

To really find more uses, you need to “think URL” — much very specific information can be transported in URLs nowadays. You can even construct URLs which perform a specific search query or do a Twitter post.

Some examples: Adorn your TV’s remote control with a code which links to the current TV programme or IMDB. Put a QR code up next to the coat hanger which links to your local weather. Put a QR code up next to your door that shows you what trains/buses are leaving next from your local bus/tram/train station (via a specific query of your local transportation services). Keep your shopping list in Remember The Milk, make a QR code linking to that list and stick it on the fridge. Use QR codes to broadcast recurring events to members your family, like round-tweets/texts “I’m going shopping right now. Need anything?”, which you can e.g. put on that reusable shopping bag that you keep in your car. Can’t remember that darn WiFi configuration of yours that you only need to remember once every year? Put it in Evernote and link to it via a QR code that you slap on your WiFi router (or, if you must, create a plain-text-QR code if the configuration is stable). Slap QR codes on your more complex electronic devices which link to a PDF version of the user manual.

C’mon, use your imagination.

Hint: URLs with queries etc. can become quite complex. You can use an url shortener like goo.gl. If you use goo.gl, you can simply add “.qr” to the end of the short url to create a QR code to print out. Pretty nifty, eh?

Hint 2: Most URL shorteners only support “http://” URLs and can’t deal with custom URI schemes like “evernote://”. But good old tinyurl.com does! You also need to pay attention to install a scanner app on your smartphone which supports custom URI schemes.

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